Parliament confirms Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, December 31
The Parliament of Georgia has confirmed the new Cabinet of Ministers and the Prime Minister late on December 29, with 86 votes for and 28 against out of the 150-seat Parliament. The opposition refused to participate in the voting process.
The procedure became necessary after former Prime Minister (PM) Irakli Garibahsvili unexpectedly resigned on December 23.
The parliamentary majority then named former Foreign Minister Giorgi Kvirikahsvili as its candidate to replace Garibashvili as Prime Minister. Kvirikahsvili then named his proposed Cabinet of Ministers, though the only change from the current roster was the appointment of Mikheil Janelidze (the former Deputy Foreign Minister) to replace Kvirikashvili himself as the Foreign Minister.
When the voting was completed and the legislative body approved both the new PM and the Cabinet of Ministers, Kvirikahsvili stressed that his main priority on the post would be “creating stability and peace in Georgia and ensuring economic welfare for locals”.
He also stressed that all the ministries had revealed their detailed views and future intentions during their reports in the legislative body that took place before the voting process.
However, he did not exclude the possibility of future reshuffles.
Now that the whole process for approving the new leadership is over, as the President has already signed the official appointment of Kvirikashvili to the post of Prime Minister, which was the last procedure of the developments.
Kvirikahsvili has already named two vice-Speakers; Minister of Energy Kakhi Kaladze and Minister of Economics Dimitri Kumsishvili.
Meanwhile, parliamentary opposition parties state that Kvirikashvili will be the same type of bland leader as Garibashvili, as the real runner of the country is the founder of the Georgian Dream coalition (GD), former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The candidate for Prime Minister and the updated Cabinet of Ministers needed to be confirmed by at least 76 votes out of the 150-seat Parliament. The Georgian Dream coalition holds 85 seats in the legislative body.
Under the Georgian Constitution, when the Prime Minister resigns, the power of Cabinet Ministers – all 19 ministers of Georgia – is automatically suspended and the Cabinet needs to regain the official approval of Parliament.
